Great Britain smash team pursuit world record at Manchester UCI Track Cycling World Cup

Great Britain won men’s and women’s team pursuit gold with fantastic performances on day one of the Manchester UCI Track Cycling World Cup.

Olympic champions Laura Trott, Dani King and Joanna Roswell - with world champion Elinor Barker - twice broke their own world record in front of a sell-out crowd in Manchester.

The foursome won in a time of 4:19.604 against Canada in the gold medal ride over four kilometres, having ridden to 4:23.910 in qualifying.

In the men’s event, Olympic champions Ed Clancy and Steven Burke were joined by Andy Tennant and Owain Doull, qualifying fastest before defeating Australia in 3:58.654.

Becky James and Victoria Williamson took silver in the team sprint behind Olympic champions Miriam Welte and Kristina Vogel of Germany. In the men’s team sprint three-time Olympic champion Jason Kenny, Philip Hindes and Matt Crampton raced to bronze against New Zealand.

"We changed the strategy a little bit from qualification to the final," said Trott after winning gold. "There's not going to be many competitions where we have a four-second buffer. We tried a three-turn strategy.

"We had the team in front of them and managed to get in their drag. It was lucky."

Great Britain had only recently set a new record at the recent European championships in the new four-kilometre, four-person format for the women’s pursuit.

But the world best would not last as Trott, Barker, King and Rowsell completed the 4000m in 4:23.910 in qualifying. The quartet then took a further four seconds off the time with a remarkable ride in the final, a full nine seconds quicker than their Canadian opponents.

Earlier Great Britain’s men also topped the podium. The experienced Clancy, Burke and Tennant were joined by Owain Doull and the four were the only team to go below four minutes in 3:59.672.

In the final they bettered their first effort, over a half a second quicker than Australia to add a world cup title to their European success.

"This is the real start of Rio. Last winter everyone was picking themselves up after the Olympic hangover,” Clancy said

"We did all right. We didn't set the world on fire. We did a great ride in qualifying, we just didn't quite back it up in the final, but it was our third weekend on the bounce after Apeldoorn and the Revolution.

"We were on our limit there, apart from Burkey, who made it look pretty easy. We'll have a good go at the worlds."

Becky James and Victoria Williamson, bronze medallists at February’s world championships, were again united in the event.

With Williamson as man one, a time of 33.483 was set, enough to qualify second behind the impressive German pair of Welte and Vogel. The final ended in the same order with the British duo recording a time of 33.635.

Kenny, Hindes and Emadi - who also combined at this year’s world championships – were aiming to improve on their European championship performance where they narrowly missed out on bronze.

Having put down a time of 43.693, Germany and Russia both went quicker setting up a bronze medal final for Britain against New Zealand. Crampton replaced Emadi in the man three slot as Britain claimed victory by less than one-tenth of a second.

“I was really pleased to be up there and back in the team,” Crampton said. "We’ll go back and pick the brains out of it. I’m riding the sprint on Sunday and I’m really looking forward to riding that.”

Nineteen-year-old Jonathan Dibben began the men’s omnium. Fifth in the flying lap and eighth in the points race gave the youngster a solid start in the six-discipline event. But an early exit in the elimination race dented his position, ending day one in seventh position with 25 points.

King, on the back of her team pursuit success, went straight back on the track to ride the scratch race final and finished an impressive seventh.